Severan Family Image Analysis

In effectively managing an empire and ensuring power stability, the clever manipulation and control of public imagery in order to effectively disseminate and support desired messages is necessary to secure a stabilised dynastic power scheme. Emperor Septimius Severus, patriarch of the Severan dynasty, understood the versatility and power of subversive propaganda and skilful public representation. The public image of the Severan family was constructed throughout Septimius’ reign in three primary veins of propaganda technique; representation of dynastic stability with a strong family unit including two male heirs, purported relation to previous well respected rulers and divine providence through divine relation. The strong emphasis on imperial …show more content…
This imperial portrait, depicting Julia Domna, Septimius, Caracalla and Geta, shows the family in their ceremonial best equipped with sceptres, representing them as they would have wanted to be revered by the common man. Modern researchers concur that there is a resemblance in countenance and style between the childhood portraits of Caracalla and Geta as children, and the portraits of Commodus and Annius Verus, the children of Marcus Aurelius. The resemblance can be particularly discerned in the hairstyles of Caracalla and Geta; thick, wild hair worn in long, wavy curls - the style of fifty years previous, that which Commodus and Annius Verus would have been depicted as having (Baharal 1992, p.112). The stylistic similarities in the domestic tondo between the Severan and Aurelian families furthermore support Septimius’ constructed inclusion in the gens Aurelius. The piece would have likely functioned as an icon relating to the imperial cult, demonstrating the owner’s loyalty and pietas towards the ruling dynasty. Following the damnatio memoriae of Geta, the defacement and continued displaying of the tondo served both as a private expression of loyalty to the imperial family, but also deference to Caracalla (Vamer 2004,